Jakarta: The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) has published a 20-member Sudirman Cup squad including some of the prominent players in men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles.
World No. 8 and the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist Jonatan Christie will be playing in the men’s singles department alongside Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.
After the disastrous loss in the Badminton Asia Championships final, World No. 1 men’s doubles pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon are hoping to redeem themselves at the mixed team championships. Indonesia attempted to bridge the gap between experience and change, by featuring the seasoned pair Hendra Setiawan, Mohammad Ahsan, together with Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
“We intentionally strengthen player’s in the men’s groups as they have better chances to score points,” said PBSI’s High Performance Director, Susi Susanti.
In women’s singles and women’s doubles, Indonesia has named Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Fitriani, Greysia Polii, Apriyani Rahayu, Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani, Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, Melati Daeva Oktavianti and Winny Oktavina Kandow to the prestigious sporting event.
Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu are set to compete in women’s doubles, with Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani likely to sit as a reserve player.
Based on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, Indonesia (353,008 points) was seeded third behind top seed Japan (450,447 points) and second seed China (442,562 points).
“We are the No. 3 seed and we have great chance of winning the championship this year,” said Susanti.
Indonesia won it’s only Sudirman Cup title in the first championship that was held in Jakarta’s Bung Karno Sports Complex in 1989.
China was the most dominant team with 10 victories in the biennial event followed by South Korea with 4 championships.
